The present invention relates to a circuitry for impedance matching.
When connecting high frequency electronic circuitry to each other, it is often necessary to match the output impedance of one circuitry to the input impedance of the other. For example, when connecting a power amplifier (PA) to an antenna load, it is necessary to match the PA output impedance to the antenna load input impedance. The typical impedance value is 50 Ohms for the antenna. In case of mismatch, the energy sent from the PA will be reflected at the antenna input and sent back to the amplifier. This could damage the power amplifier. Even if the reflection does not damage the amplifier, impedance matching is necessary seen from a power efficiency perspective. If the output impedance of the PA matches the input impedance of the antenna perfectly, all the power leaving the output of the amplifier will be absorbed by the antenna.
In mobile telephony applications, the output terminal of a power amplifier is typically at 2 Ohms and needs to be matched to the typical value of 50 Ohms for an antenna. This is normally done with an output matching scheme such as two pi matching, which implies that two low pass filters are connected in series between the amplifier and the antenna.
The matching is usually designed to meet requirements regarding PA output power and power efficiency. The object of the design is to provide maximum efficiency at high output power of the amplifier, i.e. the PA should deliver the required amount of power in an efficient manner. The power dissipated in the amplifier due to low efficiency of course raises the temperature of the transistors in the amplifier, and if the temperature becomes too high, the transistors will be damaged or destroyed. Other aspects of good efficiency is the life of batteries in battery-powered devices. An RF power amplifier is often used in Mobile Communications Equipment (MCE), and the matching is optimized for a high efficiency at a high power level. As the MCE is moving away from this optimized working point it has been tuned to, to a lower output power, the efficiency will decrease. A load switch can be utilized to tune the efficiency to a maximum at this lower power level by introducing a new load that can be switched on and off.
A problem with load switches in the prior art is that they are space-demanding and expensive to produce.
The present invention is a load switch for a differential or balanced power amplifier that is simple in design, yet highly effective, inexpensive and small.
The present invention utilizes circuitry for impedance matching, which circuitry for example is connected to a differential or balanced power amplifier or some other device requiring output impedance tuning. The circuitry includes at least one inductance connected to at least one device which conducts when being forward biased, and a direct current (DC) source controlling the conduction of the device. The circuitry eliminates the DC component of a signal passing through it. By controlling the device that is conducting when it is forward biased, it is possible to turn the circuitry on and off, thus altering the impedance at the output of the amplifier. Hence, a load switch has been created at the output of the PA.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the device which conducts when being forward biased consists of a PIN diode. PIN diodes are often used for switching radio frequency (RF) signals. The diode consists of heavily doped p and n regions separated by an undoped region referred to as xe2x80x9cintrinsicxe2x80x9d (hence the name xe2x80x9cPINxe2x80x9d). When applying a forward DC bias to the diode, it starts to conduct. When removing the DC bias, the conduction of current stops. Consequently, while the diode is conducting forward bias current, the diode conducts a high-frequency signal superimposed on the bias current. At high frequencies, when being forward biased, the diode acts as resistor whose resistance increases as the bias current decreases, i.e. acting as a low ohmic short when a sufficient bias current is applied. The DC component in the signal passing through the load switch is removed to prevent the DC component from controlling the conduction of the PIN diode. By using PIN diodes, controlling the switching of the load switch is easy. All that has to be done is to control the DC bias to the diode.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a first electrode of a first inductance is connected to a first output of the power amplifier and a second electrode of the first inductance is connected to a first electrode of the PIN diode. The direct current source is connected to the first electrode of the diode and a first electrode of a second inductance. The second electrode of the diode is connected to ground and a second electrode of said second inductance is connected to a second output of said power source.
This embodiment is advantageous by eliminating the need for space-demanding, expensive capacitors used in prior art load switches and utilizes a minimum of PIN diodes, making the load switch small and inexpensive to produce.
Further features and advantages of the present invention are apparent from studying the following description.